Light Rail in New South Wales
Sydney is currently expanding its Light Rail network with two major projects under construction. As of September 2019, the L1 Dulwich Hill Line is the only operating Light Rail Line with the L2 CBD & Southeast Line set to open later in the year. Historically, Sydney operated an extensive tram network with routes ranging from the Northern Beaches to the CBD and Inner West. At its peak, the network was the largest in the southern hemisphere. From the late 1950s the tram network was dismantled and disappeared by the 1970s, with some routes replaced by bus services. L1 Dulwich Hill Line : Main Article: L1 Dulwich Hill Light Rail The L1 Dulwich Hill Line, also known as the L1 Inner-Western Line, is the first Light Rail system in New South Wales. It consists of 23 stations across a 12.8km route, beginning at Central and terminating at Dulwich Hill. The line began operation in August 1997 as the Metro Light Rail, and was privately owned by the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC). In 2012, the state government purchased the company and inherited ownership of the Light Rail and Monorail, whom was also owned by SLRC. With this acquisition, an extension of the line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill was built and opened in 2014, utilising the then closed Goods freight Line. The line was now called the L1 Dulwich Hill line with stations and rollingstock rebranded to the current 'red' TfNSW signage. Currently, a fleet of CAF Urbos 3 sets operate on the Dulwich Hill Line. It replaced the original Variotram sets and a fleet of leased Urbos 2 trams by 2015. Stops L2 CBD & Southeast Line : Main Article: CBD and Southeastern Light Rail Description and History In February 2010 the Labor NSW Government announced a new line from Haymarket to Circular Quay via Barangaroo. As of September 2010, the final route had not yet been decided, with the three options being to send the line North from Central via George Street, Sussex Street or a loop using both. The O'Farrell government committed to building a line through the CBD, with a connection to Barangaroo. The preferred route will run along George St. It also committed to conducting feasibility studies into the construction of lines from the City to Sydney University and the City to the University of New South Wales (UNSW). On 8 December 2011, the government announced shortlisted potential routes for these extensions. In 2012, Transport for NSW decided the routes to the University of Sydney and Barangaroo via The Rocks provided "fewer customer benefits and are therefore considered a lower priority". A route from Circular Quay to UNSW via Central Station was seen as the best option. On 6 December 2012, it was reported that the government was preparing to announce a commitment to build the UNSW to Central section, with a line up George Street to Circular Quay to be built at a later date. City of Sydney Council has also recommended that a Light Rail link be built from the city to Green Square, to service the commercial and residential developments currently being constructed in the area. In October 2015, George Street was closed to allow work to start on the CBD Section of the CBD & Southeast Light Rail Project (CBD&SELR). It will stop at Circular Quay, Wynyard, Martin Place, the QVB/Town Hall, Central, then out to Randwick/Kingsford. Currently all Citadis X05 Units are in construction in Spain and/or are on their way to Australia or are at Randwick Tram Depot. The line has currently been built out to Randwick. Services will commence in December 2019, with the Kingsford Branch slated to commence in March 2020. Stops Parramatta Light Rail : Main Article: Parramatta Light Rail Parramatta Light Rail is the second Light Rail project currently in planning. Stage 1 features a 12km route containing 16 Light Rail stops between Westmead, Parramatta CBD and Carlingford. As part of this project, the current T6 Carlingford Line will be closed for conversion to Light Rail. Stage 2 will link Parramatta CBD and Olympic Park by Light Rail. This stage will begin construction upon completion of Stage 1 in 2023. Besides early works, no construction has begun on the project. This is partially due to rerouting from the old T6 Carlingford Line to an alternate route due to the Sydney Metro's scheduled route to take up that space as well as the T3 Bankstown Line. Stops Other Projects Newcastle Light Rail Newcastle Light Rail is a new Light rail route that opened in early 2019. The 2km line contains 6 stations from Newcastle Interchange to Newcastle beach,https://newcastletransport.info/light-rail and follows a similar path to the closed Heavy Rail line leading to Newcastle railway station. The route is operated by a fleet of CAF Urbos 3 sets. Although similar to the L1 Dulwich Hill variant in terms of length and capacity, these units are uniquely capable of wire-free operation via an on-board battery system.https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4604384/light-rail-journey-set-to-be-wireless/ Tram Fleet AdTranz/Bombardier Variotram The Metro Light Rail originally used German-design Variotram vehicles manufactured in Dandenong, Victoria by Adtranz (now Bombardier). The trams are bi-directional and the Variotram design is modular and has been extended for the Sydney system. The capacity of the vehicles is 217 passengers, of which 74 are seated. On tests up to three trams have been coupled together allowing a maximum capacity of 600 passengers if required. The vehicles have a low floor (floor to rail level 300 millimetres / 12 inches) style and the bogies have no axles between the wheels and are powered with gearless hub motors. There were 7 trams. The articulated design allows a wide body car without overswing on curves and they have had their design weight reduced to compensate for the addition of climate-control air-conditioning equipment. The trams run on 750 volt direct current and each tram is fitted with three doors each side which have enhanced safety systems with obstacle detection interlocked with the traction system. Fleet Numbers were 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 2106, 2107 (2101 - 2107). These trains have now been retired following the introduction of the Urbos 3. 2102 has been purchased by the Sydney Tramway Museum at Loftus for preservation. CAF Urbos 2 and Urbos 3 In conjunction with the Dulwich Hill extension, 10 additional Urbos 3 trams were ordered. As they would not arrive in time, Urbos 2 trams were leased second hand from Spain. The Urbos 2's will be taken out of the fleet as the Urbos 3's arrive. The Urbos 3s will be constructed by Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), which also manufactured the Urbos 2's. CAF was awarded the tender for the Urbos 3's on 16 August 2012. They are now all in service. A number of Urbos 3 Trams have been ordered by the NSW Government to operate the Newcastle Light Rail (NLR) and Parramatta Light Rail (PLR). Urbos 2 Fleet Numbers were 2108, 2109, 2110. Urbos 3 Fleet Numbers are 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2116, 2117, 2118, 2119, 2120 (2111 - 2120). Alstom Citadis X05 Main Article: Alstom Citadis X05 In conjunction with the CBD & Southeast Light Rail Project, a number of Citadis X05 Trams have been built by Spanish manufacture, Alstom to specifically operate the CBD & SELR. Category:Sydney Light Rail Category:Light Rail